The expansion of personal computers into homes of average consumers has also expanded the usage of the Internet by such consumers, and with it, has opened a new avenue of shopping, specifically, Internet shopping. The Internet, and specifically, the World Wide Web, provides convenient purchasing abilities from one's home, with a simple click of a mouse. Thus, practically anything imaginable, from groceries to a car, may now be purchased via the Internet.
However, unlike conventional shopping where a customer visits a store, purchases an item, and leaves the store with the item purchased, a person shopping over the Internet does not leave with the goods purchased when he or she logs off the computer. The goods purchased must be processed and delivered to the customer via a delivery service.
Other non-Internet companies, such as mail-order companies, also rely heavily on delivery services to distribute items purchased by consumers. Even conventional retail stores provide delivery services to customers for items that are not easily transportable, such as furniture, appliances, and the like.
Thus, the volume of items delivered by delivery services like U.S. Postal Service, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, and the like, has increased substantially, and with it, the pressure to be efficient and prompt in making the scheduled deliveries. Such efficiency and promptness is beneficial to both the delivery services as well as to customers, increasing customer satisfaction and encouraging purchase of items via the Internet.
Efforts have been made in the prior art to increase efficiency of certain delivery services. For instance, there exists in the prior art a self-monitoring mail delivery system wherein mail is tracked as it passes through multiple delivery stages. A schedule is created of expected arrival times at each stage. Should a mail piece not arrive on time, the system is alerted to initiate a search for the late or missing mail piece, or to take other corrective action, such as expediting delivery of late pieces. A data center monitors the operations and provides management information to help enhance deliveries.
The prior art also discloses a method and apparatus for monitoring the dispatching of scheduled mail, as well as for coordinating the receipt of new mail with common carrier dispatch schedules. Specifically, the prior art discloses a methodology by which mail is organized in terms of zip codes so that a mail run is able to arrive at a dispatch station “just-in-time” to be loaded onto a common carrier's vehicle. The prior art also discloses a post run analysis system which reviews the results of a mail production run in order to determine how effectively mail production was scheduled or whether certain mail production runs were completed too late in to conveniently meet the common carrier dispatch schedules. If this is the case, the mail production schedule is revised.
Despite efforts in the prior art, delivery services are still inconvenient for average consumers for several reasons. First, customers usually have no idea as to when a delivery is to be made, resulting in missed deliveries if there is no-one to receive the delivered merchandise. A missed delivery is not only detrimental to the customer, but also detrimental to the delivery service that would have re-directed the time and the resources expended to making a delivery which could have been successful.
Even if an estimated time of delivery is provided, such estimation is crude and not very accurate. Thus, for many items expected for delivery, customers end up postponing or canceling appointments, errands, and/or other duties to remain at the delivery location so that a delivery is not missed.
A second drawback to existing delivery services is that delivery service schedules are inflexible from the point of view of the customers. Once an item ordered is on the process of being delivered, the customer has no ability to change the delivery time, or request that the delivery be made to a different location.
Accordingly, there is a need for a delivery schedule system which continuously tracks delivery schedule times and notifies customers of a scheduled delivery prior to the making of a delivery. If the customer is not at home, or wants to change the delivery time or location, the system should allow such change and modify the delivery schedule accordingly.